


Ghosts

by LyeInWeight



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Grief/Mourning, Keith's dad is dead but also not dead, Poor Iverson, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-25 05:20:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14371761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyeInWeight/pseuds/LyeInWeight
Summary: Mitch Iverson did not think he was one to see ghosts.





	Ghosts

Mitch Iverson did not think he was one to see ghosts.

But here he was, standing in a grocery store, watching a man that looked exactly like James Hawkins, standing and considering the various brands of pasta in the aisle of the grocery store.

The man turned, having chosen one of the boxes, and Mitch turned his head away. When he chanced to look up again, the man had moved further down the aisle. He still looked like James, though now, not blinded by the shock and grief, Mitch could see the age he had. Lines crossed his face, years of laughter marked into the skin. Sadness, too, lingered in his gaze. Though as he glanced towards the toddler, sitting and staring intently all around him, in the upper basket of the cart, the sadness faded and was replaced by a soft fondness. He held out a can to the kid, and nodded when he grasped at it, speaking in a quiet tone to him.

Mitch had to walk away, at that point, the stranger’s voice sounding too much like James. His heart had clenched, and it became nearly impossible to breathe. All he could see was James, and with the child…

Well. There was no use thinking along those lines. James was gone, his best friend was dead, and had been for nearly three years.

Mitch sped through the rest of his shopping, deliberately not looking down any aisles that contained the man and his child. No use in torturing himself, after all. He had grieved his friend once already, he wasn’t up for a second time.

Clearly, however, the universe hated him, because now, here he was, stuck in line behind the same man. He averted his gaze, doing his level best to tune out the all-too familiar tones of his voice. It did not work.

“I’m sorry, sir, it’s saying that your card’s been declined.” The cashier’s voice was dispassionate, clearly used to this sort of conversation.

“Please, can you run it again?”

“It doesn’t change anything.”

The man (not James, can’t be James) scrubbed a hand over his face. “Okay, uh, just give me a moment, I think I might have some cash on me-”

“Here, let me pay for it.” Mitch mentally kicked himself. It was bad for his health to get this involved in this stranger.

“Oh, no, I really couldn’t let you do that.” The man looked supremely uncomfortable, which made Mitch kick himself even more. Still, he had already offered, and there was a layer of desperation to the discomfort that made Mitch push on.

“It’s not any trouble. Here,” Mitch passed his card to the cashier, who looked pretty done with the situation. With an put-upon sigh, she swiped the card through, and handed it back to Mitch, passing the receipt to the stranger with a fake smile. “Have a nice day, sir.” She started passing Mitch’s groceries through the scanner, without glancing up at him.

“Thank you, really. You didn’t have to do that.” The man ran a hand through his hair, with a sheepish smile on his face.

“It wasn’t any trouble. You look like a friend of mine, and I’d want anyone to do the same for him, so I guess I just…” Mitch waved his hands in absence of any coherent thought.

The man nodded. “Well, thank you… I don’t believe I caught your name?”

“It’s Mitch. Mitch Iverson.”

“Well, thank you, Mitch. My name’s Adam Kogane. This is Keith. Wanna wave hi, Keith?” The toddler looked up at Mitch, seeming to stare through him. Then he raised one chubby fist and waved at him. Mitch found himself waving back.

The cashier coughed, behind him, and Mitch startled, realizing he was in the middle of something. He handed his card back over wordlessly, and turned back to Adam (for a moment, before the man gave his name, he swore he was about to say James. Wishful thinking at it’s finest), who shifted, looking just about ready to flee.

“Well, suppose I’ll see you around, Adam. Have a good one.”

“Yeah, you too.” And with that, Adam turned and left.

Mitch would later go home, thinking about that day, and resolve to have nothing further to do with Adam, if he could help it.

And miles away, in the middle of Coconino Plateau, Adam Kogane, formerly known as James Hawkins, made the same decision.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so my customary way too long notes after a story! 
> 
> Adam/James’ names came from a couple sources. “Adam” is just something I pulled out of thin air, but “Kogane” comes from Keith’s name in DOtU and GoLion. “James Hawkins” is a character from the second part of DOtU (Vehicle Voltron), who has been theorized to be who they’re basing Keith’s dad on. Also, “Mitch Iverson” is one of the creators of Voltron, and probably where Commander Iverson’s name comes from, so I made his first name Mitch.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this! I’m not sure if I’ll continue it but I likely will, as sort of a palate refresher in between White Lion.


End file.
